The present invention relates to radio frequency identification devices and electronic price label systems, and more specifically to a system and method of managing inventory.
ESL systems typically include a plurality of ESLs for merchandise items in a transaction establishment. ESLs typically display the price of corresponding merchandise items on store shelves and are typically attached to a rail or shelf channel along the leading edge of the shelves. A transaction establishment may contain thousands of ESLs to display the prices of the merchandise items. The ESLs are coupled to a central server from where information about the ESLs is typically maintained in an ESL data file. Price information displayed by the ESLs is obtained from a price look-up (PLU) data file.
RFID technology provides an alternative to bar code reader technology for distinguishing and recording items for purchase. Some of the uses of RFID technology are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,394 assigned to the assignee of the present invention. This patent is hereby incorporated by reference.
Store associates must perform routine tasks throughout the store and require information to support operation of the store. Back room inventory management is on routine task which can be labor intensive. Store associates must routinely track movement of stock in and out of the back room, including time and location on back room shelves.
Therefore, it would be desirable to combine the communication capabilities of electronic price label systems with RFID technology in order to perform back room inventory management.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a system and method of managing inventory is provided.
The system includes an electronic shelf label (ESL) system including an ESL, a radio frequency identification (RFID) label interrogator associated with the ESL, first and second groups of RFID labels attached to first and second groups of items associated with the ESL, and a computer.
The computer obtains identification information and location information for the ESL, sends a first message to the ESL to activate the first group of RFID labels, obtains first RFID label information from the first RFID labels through the ESL system, stores the first RFID label information in a record, sends a second message to the ESL to activate second group of RFID labels, obtains second RFID label information from the second RFID labels through the ESL system, compares the first and second RFID label information, removes third RFID label information within the first RFID label information from the record if the second RFID label information does not contain the third RFID label information, and adds fourth RFID label information representing a difference between the first and second RFID label information to the record.
The computer may additionally store first times in the record with the first RFID label identification, determine second times with the second RFID label information, and subtract the first times from the second times to determine third times spent by the first items on a shelf.
The computer may additionally determine an average time spent on the shelf by the first items from the third times.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a system and method of managing inventory.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system and method of managing back room inventory which combines communication capabilities of electronic price label systems with RFID technology.
It is another object of the present invention to reduce the amount of time spent in manually tracking time and location information for items.